Paranoia: *Signed*

PARANOIA is set in the modern-day corporate environment and focuses on a lazy but bright young exec at middle-management level. When a colleague leaves after many years' loyal service, his departure is allowed to pass unnoticed by senior management. The young exec is appalled at the way his colleague is treated and plots revenge against his company. He stumbles upon a secret company 'slush fund' and manages to gain access to it. Using the stolen funds he throws a fantastically lavish leaving party for his ex-colleague. Inevitably he gets caught, and is offered a Faustian pact by senior management - he can serve a lengthy jail term for embezzlement, or he can infiltrate a high-tech rival. As he becomes a rising star at his new company, his loyalties become divided and ultimately he seeks to break the bonds with his former company... PARANOIA is an acid portrayal of how people act in the modern-day corporate environment.This gripping novel taps into both the basic wish-fulfillment fantasy about ambition and success and the post-Enron disillusionment with big business.